An adaptive bit rate (ABR) server advertises multiple stream profiles at different bit rates, and uses a separate transcoder for each advertised stream profile. A client may choose a first profile to receive a stream at a first bit rate, but due to network restrictions or processing power later elect to switch to a different profile at a second bit rate. The server will then, beginning with the next segment, use a different transcoder to transcode and provide the stream to the client at the new bit rate. Because live streams are transcoded in real time, latency may be introduced by the change to the new bit rate due to communications with the streaming client, tear down of existing buffers, reallocation of memory, and initiation of the transcoding at the new bit rate. In this regard, the streaming client may include an appropriately sized buffer to accommodate such increases in latency.